Dell XPS M1530 vs. Apple MacBook Pro - March 8, 2008
I was in the market to buy a new laptop earlier this year and I came down to comparing to machines: the Dell XPS M1530 and the Apple MacBook Pro. I compared both of them to every aspect I could possibly come up with. Anyways both machines recently have received some upgrades so I thought I should update both comparison lists for those of you who might be looking for a new 15-inch notebook.
Update 4/20/08: Dell is now offering a 1440×900 LED and 1920×1080 Full HD displays.
I gave Apple a point for the Screen since they offer a non-glossy option which I truly prefer due to glare. Dell was expected to push out a LED screen over a month ago, however it hasn’t happened yet. The body of the MacBook Pro is cleaner, simpler, and lighter compared to the XPS 1530. In terms of Operating Systems, if you want OS X Leopard, chances are you won’t be able to get it working on a XPS; however it should a breeze to install Vista/XP on a MacBook Pro with Boot Camp. Leopard can use 4GB of RAM; however you’ll need 64-bit editions of Vista or XP to utilize all of it. Dell offers many more options for HDDs including a 64GB SSD which would be unusual for a 15-inch laptop. Dell also lets you turn your XPS into a Blu-ray player with an optional Blu-ray read/write drive which is great for watching high definition movies. I was irritated to find out that the XPS didn’t have gigabit Ethernet, which is great for transferring large files on a local network, especially when most new laptops have it. Apple won the keyboard war with its beautiful backlit keyboard with an ambient light sensor. However the XPS makes up with a Finger Print Sensor, which is great for bypassing typing passwords when people are around, and a better Web Camera. The XPS comes with a media remote control which tucks away into the express card slot while Apple now charges an additional $20 for their Front Row remote. The XPS M1530 can also be configured with a Sprint or Verizon mobile broadband card which will utilize the laptop’s antennas for better signal gain. I choose the 6-cell battery for the XPS since it was the best one which didn’t stick out. It offered only 2.5 hours of work time while the MacBook Pro gets about 3 hours.
If you didn’t already notice, there’s one major factor I left out on the chart: price. This part is what made me make my final decision which was to go with the Dell M1530. Dell offered a pretty good student discount in addition to their constant promotions. Apple also offers such discounts, but are incomparable to what Dell offers. With both configured to the highest similar specifications, the MacBook Pro was getting very close to $3000 while the Dell XPS was about $500 cheaper costing about $2500. In addition for those of you on a strict budget like I was, there’s more flexibility to remove unneeded components with the Dell to bring the price down. Anyways, that’s my two cents so please feel free to make comments.
Links: Apple MacBook Pro | Dell XPS M1530
Tags: apple, blu-ray, dell, dvd, ethernet, firewire, hdmi, intel, led, macbook pro, usb, wifi, xps
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137 comments.
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neverwrong...ever says
from personal experience, I know that the Dell customer service is excellent, (assuming you reach a technician) but its true that there are more often quirks in dells than in Macs. its a factor to consider when purchasing them; the MBP is thinner and feels sturdier. and honestly, 1080 resolution is kind of ridiculous when considering that there are 60″ Televisions with the exact same resolution.
things like the webcam are really pretty petty (because .7 MP is a major difference; no webcam will display you in HD, keep it real =P)
on a side note, apple has ways to compensate for the price difference. I saw the other day, that they discount an additional $300 if you purchase a flash ipod. if I was offered a $200 32gb ipod touch, I know I’d take it.
on a side note, ‘not being able to afford a mac’ isn’t always applicable. with financial aid from a school, its possible to pick up a mac at 2/3 of the price slashed.
Adam says
That is funny neverwrongtillnow. I have had more then one horrible experience with dell customer service, all to get a single part fixed on my Dell XPS laptop. I had to wait on the phone for 2-3 hours more then once. Each time I called Dell they sent me through a loop de loop of their customer service reps, just to get to one of their service maintenance departments that had any idea of what the problem with my computer was caused by. Once the problem was identified, it took close to a month before Dell sent anyone out to fix my laptop. So I was stuck with no computer to work on at home for quite some time. With apple care you can actually take your Apple to any Apple store get it fixed. Apple stores actually have maintenance people there to talk to you, and identify the problem, and most repairs are guaranteed in 3 days or less. Then you just come back and pick your Apple up, instead of 2 annoying LONG phone calls and close to a MONTH of waiting.
donthate08ter says
@ neverwrong
I’d like to know what college you’re going to that gives you a 67% discount on Apple computers. I’m going to Stanford in the fall, and I did a price comparison for both the Dell XPS M1530 and MacBook Pro
donthate08ter says
My last post got cut off early. Continuing…
I price compared both the XPS M1530 and MacBook Pro (with educational discounts, mind you) with similar hardware (Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz, 4GB RAM, DVD burner, Bluetooth, Wireless N, 1440X900 LED screen, etc) and the price difference was about $900. Really, if the Mac was only like $100-$200 more expensive I would have gotten it instead, but $900 is not easy to swallow. AND on top of that, I already have a successful and stable installation of OS X 10.5.2 running in addition to Vista and Linux. So I think the argument of “Get the Mac for the OS” is nullified, EULAs aside (I still paid good $$ for my copy of Leopard). Unless you are, of course, the average computer user…
Zach says
So I’m traditionally a pc user but I would like to switch to Mac. However i need to run PC only programs like Autodesk AutoCad and inventor among other things so my proffessor recomended I stick to a pc. I am a computer animation major btw. I was wonderinng whether it would be smart to listen to the professor and get the dell 1530, rather than sort of chance it with the Mac and Boot camp. I guess i’m just worried that for the price, i would be making a mistake in choosing the mac and boot camp to run the pc only programs.
Zach says
basically is it risky to choose the macbook pro given the fact that i need pc programs for school…
John says
For Autocad, if its not 3D Intensive you can dual boot OS using Fusion.
oliver says
nice comparison! I have been looking into the 1530 now for about two hours of extensive net research as an alternative for my crappy quality mbp.
You are missing a few points:
1. the mbp has serious display issues. if you neet good colour quality, don’t go for the mbp. if you start reading the edid info out of your display and check on EXACTLY what apple builds into these things you will realise, that you are beeing ripped off. my display is a lg display (in a brand new mbp) and only supports 262k colours and only has a contrast of 400:1, instead of the promised millions of colours and 500:1 contrast. if you check up on the other 4 possible displays you can get shipped in your mbp you will see that all have worse technical data than apple claims. AND: you will have real problems keeping some colours apart. besides: it’s a rip off.
2. sound issues: the mbp has a serious issue with the sound chip which is mounted too near to the power translation input thingy. the result: I know three people personally by now who have a very disturbing whining noise. several exchange attempts have failed. and nearly every mbp has a loud cracking sound when you mute the system with earplugs. That hurts, seriously. so you can not use it for working on sound, either.
3. apple service vs dell service. this is self explainatory
4. just a small list of faults i have with my mbp:
dvd writer doesn’t work, “a” and “1″ key hardly work, the display is not quite even in lighting quality, colour issues, sound issues, vga port is broke and the whole casing is not quite straight. and i look after my mbp better than my balls.
so: as long as apple still continues producing crap quality i will run os on pc hardware. the dell 1530 looks most promising and with dual boot you can work with another os just in case your main os froze or broke. you can install any OS on a 1530, there are many many good guides with promising results.
John says
Hmm, as much as I doubt that you are telling the truth, but there is no way your MBP has THAT much problems, its either you are a troll or just trying to make the MBP look bad. I know MBP has issues, but it doesn’t have THAT much issues especially from a single unit.
John says
almost forget, if you say dell is better quality then apple, you are a nut.
Tedson says
I’m getting ready to go to school, and i have been looking into laptops. I’m going into landscape architecture, and they use a software called arch-view and arch-gis. I have had my heart set on a Mac book Pro for some time now, but than i found out the software is meant for PC. I was a little disappointed that i may not be able to get a MBP, but than a buddy of mine told me about boot camp. He said “It runs windows on the MBP so you can use PC software.” I got to thinking hey it may work out, but i was still worried so i called the company that makes the Arch software. (ESRI) I talked to a representative that told me the software is meant for a PC, but will work on a MBP. He than went on to say the software would not be guaranteed on the MBP. (RISKY) I have been up all night worrying (pretty stupid thing to worry about) I don’t want to spend 2700 dollars on a MBP and come to find out it won’t work. That is when i searched on Google to compare the MBP to Dell and i found this article/blog and read everyone’s opinion on MBP and the Dell XPS M1730. I know very little about the dell, but it is starting to look better every minute! I would like to know more about it if anyone would like to tell me. I’m putting my trust in whoever would like to write back that they’re knowledge will help in giving me knowledge so that i can decide. Thanks for your time!
Tedson says
P.S. If anyone knows of any other good Labtops that you may think will work for what i am doing. I am open to that as well!
John says
Your software will have a 99% chance of running. My only concern is since its a 3D software, some features might not work like for example if the system requirement requires a Nvidia Quadro or some sort of non-gaming graphics card then some function wont work.
I managed to run SolidWorks through boot camp and so far only 1 function wont be working cause it requires a Nvidia Quadro GPU.
To make it simple for you, any program can work in BootCamp because Intel Mac uses the same processor and chipset as its competitors.
Justinproblem says
Money is not an issue- I’ll get that out of the way. Ok so It’s either gunna be a top of the line XPS or a Mac Pro. I’m not a gamer. this is strictly going to be used for college studies, downloading music, internet, lots of multi tasking. with those uses in mind which computer is better to get?
John says
Okay, justinproblem, since money is not an issue, you are going to multi task, and it is for college. I definetly recommend the MBP because my friend has a XPS the 13″ version and my MBP Battery life blow away his XPS battery life.
Dudeman says
@Justinproblem
If you plan on making your decision based on a spec-by-spec comparision, consult the Dell and Apple websites; hardly anyone gets the facts right in online discussions.
I wouldn’t recommend doing such a comparision however, ANY computer manufactured by a decent company will fulfill the requirements you’ve mentioned. You should, instead, focus on other factors like design, feel, warranty and portability (weight, battery life, etc.). Try out your laptops at a store; a few Dell ones which looked real nice online felt cheap and clunky at the store.
It wouldn’t make sense to follow a recommendation; we’re talking about a digital life partner here, you’ve got to go out and get to know them.
v says
I was expecting a comparision sheet an dLOL, I find a battle field, hehe, :D
I use a Windows Desktop which I built, A Mac Pro at College, a Windows dumb ass machine at Work, A Mac Book Pro which a friend owns, and my sisters simple HP Lappie with Vista. Dabbled with i-Macs since they had G4’s and using them now with 24″ screens an dcored2Duo processors,
all these so called Mac fanatics cried at their top voices that Intel Chips sucked, an dthat G4s and G5s were so awesome, hehe, :d and today all that comes out form Apple include their tiny warrior Mac Mini has a Intel Chip in it.
Well I loev computers, building mini clusters, do design, video and bein at a film school, and working with production and animation houses, get to work on teh most bizare hardcore extreem machines, takle 32Gb Ram for example! on
Such flexibilty existed only on Windows and Unix systems shipped by IBM, now Apple joined teh bandwagoin a few years back, after adopting Intel Chips,
So my verdict, a computer is like the love of your life, unless you are too dumb to know what it is, and we all ahve preferences, go to hell if you stand on either side of this Os war, I am happy using both, and love them all,
But if you say, Dude I am not sure what to buy, the answer is simple, what you want,
If its your day to day use, e-mail, blogging, video, watch shit, download crap, you better get a Mac, it takes teh shit, an dkeeps mum, and yeah it will please you fancy by popping out a Cd if it has any malware or suspected virus,
The only reason WE use Macs is the Softwares, being in Film, and Video, can’t do without Final Cut Studio, Logic Pro, and a lot of very usefull high standard softwares, for your kin information it is not just teh OS or the so advertised Hardware, it’s the UNique fuckin Softwares that make us buy macs, and of course they are the flashy things, so some style conscious numbers do pop in, an dhey no doubts the Mac Book Pro looks cool,
So teh only things you have to look at, what you want, what money have you got, and how soon are you gonna upgrade, the rest is useless, if u got the brains you can build super computer out of you sony playstations, end of day all that is inside is Made in China, Made by you knwo who hardware manufacturers, and people liek me buy it from them and build their own machines, and hey forgot to tell you Mac OSx runs better on Windows, and yeha it can eb done, hehe, :D
so go ahead plunge into whatever you want, ahve fun, and don’t ya fuckin waste webspace with your silly so called technical explainations to which computer manufacturer is better,
Adios,
Much love & Peace,
jordan says
I have a mac and love it. Its fast and easy to use. elegant looking but very powerful
Nick says
Another thing that dell has going for them is security features. I was looking at the XPS today and it came with lo-jack and finger print scanning. My macbook pro has neither and is less than 3 months old.
ghola says
Dell 1520, $1150 got me T7300 4mb, 4GBMem, 8600m gt, 320GB HD, 1400×900 glossy, running WinXP 64+OSX 10.5.2+Mandriva(<-best OS for basics).
Using M-Audio Firewire for sound because this is a music machine for Cubase and Logic. On mouse left+right click support( apparently thats a feature for mac)
Let the fan boys simmer on that.
kody janzen says
I’m a mac user myself, and I don’t disagree that the dell was a better deal, because they did price the macbook pro to high, But that’s not what I disagree with, the only problem with going with the Dell would be that it has Windows Vista, in my opinion, any price paid for a computer that has Vista is overpriced.
Well I think...... says
Well I am getting my mac tomorrow and I was also decideing between apple dell and even hp but after looking at the specs and the quality of build the apple stood out by far. Even if the cost was double the hp or dell. Even though I am just moving to mac I think that I will be for the better.
Linda says
Let me just tell you about my experience with the M1530, I wish I had never purchased this paperweight. I month after I bought this, in October, I was on the internet and suddenly my comp froze, got a black screen and later found out my hard drive was bad. I have been reading many reviews on the internet as a result of many bad experiences to follow with Dell Cust Svc. As it turns out, these computers must have been a bad batch because MANY others are having similar problems with this model purchased around the same time. I suggest you do not buy Dell, I wish I hadn’t, thier customer service is terrible, I wasted 4 hours being transferred several times to EVERY dept and no one could help me or was willing to be accountable for a bad product. I am still in limbo, no one has helped me, and I still have to call back tomorrow to try to resolve this. DO NOT BUY DELL, GO WITH MAC!!!!!!!!!!!
steve smith says
linda just cause you and a few others have a couple of problems does not mean the dell sucks. my mom and sisters both on the dell and havent had any problems.and i say dell costumer service is jolly well cracker jack in fixing roblems in my familys experience. how ever since computers are our friends for those of you who want an MBP get one i hear apples are nice just a little high on the price side but price no matter what the product can be accommdated for anything when it comes to electronics crazy rebates and insentives if u buy at the right time. for those trying to decide between the dell xps m1530 and apple mac book pro test drive both at your local electronics store or borrow a frineds see how you like them and pick the better one for your personal needs
steve smith says
because people buying a computer shouldnt be ablout what john michelle and kayla like it should be about what you like and how it fits into your life because what the others like u may not and at the end of the day you have 2 deal with shelling out the money for the computer.so i highly recommend testing both
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